The Englishman's Daughter: A True Story of Love and Betrayal in World War I

In the first days of World War I, four British soldiers found themselves trapped behind enemy lines on the western front. They were forced to hide in the tiny French village of Villeret, whose inhabitants decided to shelter the fugitives until they could pass as Picard peasants. This volume is the never-before-told story of these extraordinary men, their protectors, and of the haunting love affair between Private Robert Digby and Claire Dessenne, the most beautiful woman in Villeret. Their passion would result in the birth of a child known as “The Englishman’s Daughter,” and in an act of unspeakable betrayal, a tragic legacy that would haunt the village for generations to come. Through the testimonies of the villagers and the last letters of the soldiers, the author has pieced together a harrowing account of how life was lived behind enemy lines during the Great War.